is a supervisor allowed to ask an employee what a family emergency is that has them missing work?

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is a supervisor allowed to ask an employee what a family emergency is that has them missing work?

An employee called in saying that he couldn’t come in to work because of a family emergency. I asked the employee what the family emergency was. They stated it was a family emergency he couldn’t disclose any information, it was private. Can an employee get terminated for not giving a reason?

Asked on January 16, 2019 under Employment Labor Law, Hawaii

Answers:

M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 5 years ago | Contributor

Unless a worker has protection unde the terms of an employment contract or union agreement, they can be terminated for any reason or no reason at all, with or without notice. Bottom line, absent some form of legally actionable discrimination, a company can set the conditions of employment much as it sees fit. 


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